Here Are The 8 Strangest Things That Ever Happened In Alabama
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Jennifer Young
Author
Strange events seem to be happening everywhere these days, and Alabama is no exception. Even though some of these events are stranger than others, most all receive some type of media attention.
Listed below are 8 of the strangest events to ever take place in Alabama.
In Sylacauga, Alabama, on November 30, 1954, Ann Hodges was napping on her couch. All of a sudden, a softball-size meteorite broke through the ceiling, bounced off a radio, and finally hit her in the thigh. Surprisingly, Ann survived. She's also the only confirmed person in history to have been hit by a meteorite. The "Housewife-Whacking Meteorite," as many call it, is currently on display at the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
In August 2013, radio station 94.9 thought a mock warning of an alien invasion would receive lots of publicity for a programming change.
Unfortunately, it backfired and everything spiraled out of control as listeners in Tuscumbia, Alabama took it very seriously.
Reportedly, many worried parents continuously called the police station stating their concern about a possible bomb threat, and some even kept their frightened children at home. Those children who did attend school were terrified so much that police officers had to be dispatched to the schools to settle them down. Tony Olivis, the Colbert County Schools Superintendent, accused the promotion as being in poor taste. And even though it was just an innocent joke blown way out of proportion, Brian Rickman, the program director for the Shoals Radio Group, apologized for the confusion.
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In November 2014, the Autauga County Sheriff's Office recovered 21 dolls from Bear Creek Swamp. These dolls were placed on top of bamboo stakes and then stuck into the swamp. Most of them were made of porcelain and appeared to be antiques. After social media blew up about the dolls, a few of the deputies paddled around in a canoe to retrieve them. To say these dolls were creepy is an understatement. The Autauga County Sheriff's Office felt like there was nothing to worry about because the Bear Creek Swamp area is known for teenagers hanging out at night, looking for creatures. I wouldn't care if there's anything to worry about or not. A doll graveyard is beyond creepy!
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Last year, a historic lunar rover prototype that was designed for the Apollo Moon missions was sold to an Alabama junkyard for scrap metal.
Reportedly, it was located in early 2014 by a US Air Force Historian. He had spotted it in the backyard of his mother’s neighbor. Upon his discovery, he alerted NASA immediately. Unfortunately, before NASA could recover the lunar rover, it was sold to the junkyard after its owner passed away. Supposedly, it was scrapped in December 2014. Recently, the scrap dealer made the announcement that the rover is safe and was never scrapped. It has actually been stored away. He plans to sell the rover at auction. It's so crazy to think something like this could be thrown away at a junkyard.
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In October 2014, 18-year-old Zachary Rapheal Torrance robbed a total of four Subway restaurants in Birmingham, Midfield and Adamsville. Security footage showed an overweight man matching Torrance’s description robbing the stores. He was wearing bright orange shoes, which would later assist in his identification. Torrance was arrested at a Hueytown, Alabama Walmart after a citizen realized he was the same person from the surveillance footage. When asked why he robbed the Subway restaurants, he told the detective he had been on the "Subway Diet (a.k.a. Jared Diet)" and because it failed, he wanted his money back. Luckily, nobody was injured during this string of robberies.
On February 11, 1989, a woman made a call to the Fyffe Police Department claiming she spotted a strange object in the sky. By the end of the following day, more than 50 residents had claimed to see strange objects flying in the sky. According to reports, the strange object was hovering and was outlined in green. It also contained a bright light in the center. It was bigger than a jet and was very silent. The silence is what left everyone baffled. The news of these sightings attracted approximately 4,000 tourists and more than 100 news organizations to the tiny town of Fyffe. The media went crazy! In recent years, there have been other UFO sightings in Fyffe, in addition to other areas of Alabama.
At Pickens County Courthouse, in Carrollton, Alabama, a ghostly face appears in the top window. According to legend, the face is of a wrongly accused slave, Henry Wells, who was lynched by a mob after being accused of burning down the previous courthouse. While peering out the courthouse window, lightning struck nearby and etched the image of his face onto the window pane. He warned the people he would haunt them forever and he's obviously keeping his word.
The Crichton Leprechaun, also known as the Mobile Leprechaun, is an urban legend and internet meme involving a leprechaun seen in a tree in Crichton, an area of Mobile, Alabama. Following a news report in March 2006, the Crichton Leprechaun rose to international fame. After the news segment was posted to YouTube, the city received lots of media attention. The news segment was one of the first YouTube videos to go viral, and it now has more than 25 million views.
Are you familiar with any of these strange events? What other strange events can be added to the list? Let us know in the comments below!
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